Demon Hunting Through the Universe
by The Violet Flames of Moonlight
Summary: A crossover featuring Dante in the KH universe. Teaming up with Sora while looking for a good fight, Dante meets Cloud and a whole bunch of the cast as Sora continues searching for his friends, unafraid of taking down anything in his path. Have fun!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first crossover! Yaay! Hope I did okay – let me know what you guys think!**

"Damn it!" Dante growled, hurling Rebellion into the fray and pulling Ebony and Ivory out of their holsters, firing a blitz of bullets into the surrounding enemies. Still, the Heartless streamed forth, an endless, seething mass of darkness. "There's too many Heartless! I need back-up over here!" Sora, hearing his plea, edged closer to the older male, desperately struggling to keep the Heartless from overcoming him. As one launched itself at his head, he ducked and struck upwards, the Keyblade spearing its gut as it disintegrated in a small cloud of smoke. Angered by the defeat of another comrade, the remaining Heartless in the vicinity surrounded him, antennae quivering with fear and hatred. Body moving automatically, Sora dropped to the ground and spun, eliminating the ring of Heartless. Without losing momentum, he hurtled to his feet and ran to aid his new friend. "Are you okay?" The man chuckled in a gruff voice, making Sora flinch. "Takes a _lot _more than this to take me out!" Replacing his guns, the white-haired man pulled Alastor out of thin air, shifting his feet as he moved his body, a battle dance too fast to be seen suddenly revealing itself as all the remaining Heartless from the army vanished around them. Boyish blue eyes widened as the man retrieved and sheathed his sword, bouncing up to him in nervous admiration. "Whoa! That was incredible! What did you need my help for, anyways?" Dante shrugged, clapping a hand on another red-clad shoulder in a comradely gesture. "Just wanted to see what this place had to offer. See, I'm a mercenary, but I'm so good at my job even the money's not enough. Get's a bit tedious, so I figured I'd try my luck at finding a decent fight over here. Then you showed up and I was curious as to what you were capable of. For a boy your age, you have surprisingly little darkness in your heart." Spiky brown hair flopped as Sora cocked his head. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" _As dim as he is bright… _Dante thought, shaking his head, changing the topic instead. "So, why don't the demons of this universe bleed?" The brunette stared at him quizzically. "Huh? What do you mean?" Dante looked shocked for a moment, before his face hardened again. Pulling a dagger from his belt, he slid the blade over his fingertip, leaving a thin line of red in its wake. Sora stared at it incredulously. "Don't tell me you lot don't bleed either?" At that moment, Cloud walked up, arms folded and his usual miserable look on his face. "Oh, we bleed. We just don't get cut up, usually. Heartless don't have bodies, which is why they don't bleed, while we only bleed if it's a near-mortal injury. Besides, we have… different methods in this universe." Grey eyes flashed as Dante took in this information, quickly licking his lips before putting his finger in his mouth, savouring the taste of blood as he sheathed his dagger. "How so?"

Sora was looking nervously between them, sensing a confrontation. Luckily for him, Cloud stopped advancing and turned away, dark eyes staring at the horizon. "I suppose you could call it magic. We get hurt, any of our mages use a quick spell, there's a green flash and we're fully healed. We get them to whip up potions, too; in case we're in a jam." Dante nodded, still curious as to what he meant, but accepting it nonetheless. "My thanks. Guess I should keep lookin-"  
"_Nobodies!_" Sora shouted unexpectedly. "Huh?" Cloud turned, and his blue eyes locked onto the boy's determined ones. "Nobodies…" he repeated, barely above a whisper. "A nobody? What's that?" Sora growled, glaring at the white-haired man. "Not a "nobody". A _Nobody_. With a capital "N"! They're bad people. They… They hurt my friends!" Dante could do nothing more than stare at him, a lopsided grin on his face. "These 'Nobodies'… They bleed, then?" Cloud shrugged as Sora nodded vigorously. "I never met one, but it's what brought Sora here originally. Nobodies are the products, along with Heartless, of losing one's heart. This creates two incomplete beings, but there are many more Heartless than Nobodies as the original person needs to have a strong will to reform as a Nobody after creating a Heartless. A heart can be lost if someone falls to the darkness, or if a Heartless rips it out. Only the strong survive here." Pale lips changed from a grin to a smirk. _Sounds like _my _kind of place. _"So, where's the party?" Spiky blond hair shook as its owner walked off, calling back "Stick with the kid – he'll lead ya straight to 'em!" before he vanished over a blue hill, matching the rest of the landscape. Dante nodded his approval. "Good kid; smart and to the point. So, what's your name, anyway?" He extended a gloved hand as the boy stared, blinking a few times before realising what happening. "I'm Sora!" Gripping the hand in both of his, the brunette shook it vigorously, grinning from ear to ear. "And you are?" _Well, he's got guts, I'll give him that. _"Dante. Demon hunter extraordinaire, mercenary for hire… treasure hunter. Give me a job and pay me well enough, I'll get it done." Retracting his arms, Sora folded them before him, a thoughtful look on his face. _Does this kid do _anything _that's not remotely annoying?_ "I've got it!" He slammed his fist into his palm, his previous grin returning. "We can travel for a bit! I'm not sure I'll be able to pay you, but if you're up for it, you'd be doing me a favour by taking out Nobodies. I'm not sure how you got into this world, but I'm one of the few people who can travel between them. Anyway, I figured you could use a tour guide." Dante nodded, straightening his coat as he crossed his arms. "Lead the way." Sora nodded once, gesturing for the man to stay close as he turned towards a wall and aimed the tip of his Keyblade at it, a steady beam of bright blue light streaming from it, the white-haired man shielding his eyes as the whole surface gleamed golden, before fading to reveal a small door. "Come on!" yelled Sora, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him through the door before he could react. _What a fascinating little goofball…_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am aware that Sora doesn't travel everywhere by Keyhole, but think about poor Dante, crowded in the Gummi Ship as Sora crash-lands it continuously. Besides, what could possibly be a more stylish KH travel method for him than a golden flash of light?**

"So…" Dante began, peering openly at the still settlement around them. "This place is inhabited?" Sora nodded in response, pausing to listen. "Yeah, it is. There hasn't been much activity since the Heartless infestation, though." A silver head bobbed in acknowledgement of the information. "Is there a pizza joint or anything like that around here? I could go for a small bite." The brunette watched him skeptically, tilting his head and staring in confusion. "Pete-tsa?" Dante gaped at the boy's reaction, frowning in agitation. "So _you're_ telling me, that in _all_ the worlds in this universe, there is not a _single_ place where someone can sit and eat pizza?!" Sora flinched at his tone, shaking his head vigorously, before stopping and beaming up at him. "Maybe not, but we have _ice-cream!_ I mean, that's even better, right?" Grey eyes locked onto his blue ones before chuckling deeply, licking his lips. "Ice-cream doesn't sound like a bad idea. Do you think they have strawberry sundaes?" The boy gave another confused look, causing Dante to sigh in frustration. "Fine. Ice-cream is fine, whatever the flavour may be." Sora perked up again immediately, giving another one of his infamous grins, Dante cracking a small smile in response. "Then let's go!" Grabbing his wrist, Sora dragged him through the city streets, letting him look around at the sunbathed walls as a group of children passed them, but saw no one else until the shop was in sight.

"Two, please," Sora called, holding his free hand up in a "V", grinning widely with both eyes closed. The owner nodded, quickly scanning over Dante's build before getting to his work, producing two pale blue ice blocks from the stall and handing them to the silverette to hold in each hand while Sora fished around in his pocket for the Munny. Dante was about to take a hesitant lick of one when the brunette grabbed his arm, squeezing tightly. "No! …Not yet…" Confused, the white-haired demon nodded once, moving to follow as Sora grabbed one of the ice blocks and walked off.

"So….? What do you think?" Blue eyes peered curiously at the half-demon, the owner grinning and clutching the side of the building, kicking his legs absentmindedly as he watched his companion sitting precariously in a similar position, eyes closed and nostrils flaring as he inhaled its scent. "Ice cream that smells like the sea? You sure are a strange bunch." With a smirk, he bit into the ice block, tearing half of it off with a swift movement of his head, throwing it back and gulping the half in his mouth down. Sora watched in amazement, stunned. "That's the fastest I've ever seen anyone eat one!" Dante grinned and took it as a compliment, licking the rest of it off the stick and his fingers before patting him on the back. "You'll find I'm the fastest at a lotta things, kid!" Turning his attention to the scenery before them, he mumbled "Some view! How'dya find a place like this?" Blinking slightly, Sora kicked his feet to a gentle rhythm, staring at his hands clasped before him. "Just… a friend. A long time ago… or at least, it _feels_ like a long time." Sora frowned, looking away as Dante turned to observe him, his stare curious and face unreadable. "What happened, Sora?" A heavy silence.

"Tell me. What happened?" The tone of voice was unmistakable: through measured calm, the threat of disobeying his command was painfully obvious. Wincing, the brunet turned to meet his gaze, dull eyes full of pain and a strange emptiness. "Well… I… I mean, _Roxas_…" Grey eyes softened with slight confusion, but Dante nodded for him to continue. "We met a guy named Axel. Redhead, really tall, purple tattoos under his eyes; unique, hard to miss! Well, anyway, he has a sweet tooth – a _really_ strong one – and he introduced me, I mean Roxas, to this place, and to our treat." Waving his ice cream in the half demon's general direction, he murmured to the wind and golden sunset. "Sea salt ice cream…" Nodding, the silverette licked his lips again, re-tasting the concoction in a new light upon knowing its name. "Sea salt ice cream…" he mumbled back, leaning forward a little and unwittingly mimicking the brunette's pose, leaning towards the sunset with his hands clasped between his knees, elbows gingerly resting on his thighs.

By this stage, the sun had nearly set, bathing the surrounding city of gold blood red, the few straggling clouds on the horizon stained purple with the dying light. "Red is a good colour," Dante mused, flicking his coat and leaning backwards a little, stretching his impatient muscles from their 'cramped' position, instead tilting until his back was pressed smoothly against the wide pathway of their hangout. Turning his head to stare at the man, now resting the back of his head on his tucked arms, Sora gasped and looked away quickly, tears in his eyes. "You… you look just like him in that position. Axel… Red was his favourite colour, too." Frowning, the demon man stood up, strolling backwards and forwards along the thin rim of where the brunette was still sitting, as easily as if his body weighed nothing. "Dante, stop it! What if you fall?" Laughing suddenly, he jerked to a halt, one leg raised partially, deliberately hanging over the empty air to his left; Sora cringed. Intense laughter gradually subsiding to a now-sinister chuckle, the demon pulled his leg back and put it directly in front of the other one, heel to toe. "A demon knows when he's gonna die just before he does, kid! It ain't my time to die." Taking another step forward, Dante swayed towards the edge deliberately, causing the boy to gasp. "_Damn_ it, Dante, I mean it!" Righting himself and sitting down into the 'crowded' position again, the white-haired man sighed softly, staring absently at the shadows forming on the buildings. "Now it's your turn to tell _me_ what's wrong," Sora commented, sensing the tension in the older male. Dante only sighed again and brought his arms up to rest his head in his hands.

"You remind me of someone close too, kid. That's all." Frowning, the brunette boy searched what he could see of the other's face behind his long hair and gloved hands. "Go on." Now it was Dante's turn to frown, tipping his head even further against his palms. Silence surrounded them for what felt like a long time, before the demon finally agreed to speak. "He was – _is_ – a lot like you; young, naïve, full of life and inner strength, usually willing to help others. I worry about him; even before I got here, we haven't spoken for three months. It's not like we had a fight or anything, just a slight disagreement after which he upped and left. Didn't pack anything, but didn't need to… Damn him, he could have called, though!" Sora flinched; it was all too clear that the demon wasn't used to yelling, his voice heavy and cracked, tearing from his throat like sticks scraping against stone. Unsure of what else to do, the boy smiled gently, patting his arm for support. "It's ok. You'll find him. Who knows? Maybe he ended up like you somehow, somewhere amongst these worlds? If that's the case, he'd probably be on one or another, and we'll find him if he stays put!" Dante chuckled grimly, but sat up with lighter spirits. "That idiot doesn't have the common sense to 'stay put'." Grinning at each other, they stood up and began descending the stairs behind the tower, Sora bubbling over in his excitement to boast about his achievements, met with Dante's joyful chuckling and absent gestures.


End file.
